GOOD Ideas for Cities: Three Ideas for Venice, Italy

Finally, a team from Spedstudio responded to a challenge from Marco Zordan of Associazione 40XVenezia, who asked how tourists and citizens could have more meaningful interactions on Venice's streets and canals. Lamenting that the tourist-clogged St. Mark's Square was a lost cause, Spedstudio cheekily recommended converting it to a Disney-like "Doge's Land," completely surrendering the plaza to commercialism. But they also proposed several serious solutions for the city, including an app called Being Bepi. This cross between Airbnb and a guided walking tour would allow tourists to connect with local residents to experience snippets of daily life in Venice, from touring the city's sites on a fishing boat (not a gondola) to eating an authentic home-cooked meal.

One final note: In light of the catastrophic flooding that Venice is experiencing—70% of the city was flooded last week, in some of the highest water levels they've seen in recent history—most of us have only seen photos of people giddily frolicking in the high waters. Be sure to read this letter by one of our GOOD Ideas for Cities urban leaders, Jane da Masto, to understand the devastating environmental impact the floodwaters are truly wreaking upon the city.

GOOD Ideas for Cities pairs creative problem-solvers with real urban challenges proposed by civic leaders. To learn more visit good.is/ideasforcities. Watch more videos of recent GOOD Ideas for Cities events, and if you'd like to talk about bringing the program to your city or school, email alissa[at]goodinc[dot]com or follow us at @IdeasforCities